Spurgeon was on the ice for the Wild's morning skate but will miss his sixth straight game on Saturday. With Spurgeon still sidelined, Dakota Mermis will remain on the Wild blueline. Expect Spurgeon to return shortly after the Christmas break.

The Flyers finished their pre-Christmas schedule on Friday, so they have sent a couple of players back to the AHL. With Carter Hart back healthy, Petersen will likely remain in the AHL once the schedule resumes next week. Petersen has gone 4-6-1 with a 3.20 GAA and .898 SV% in 11 games with Lehigh Valley this season.

Hunt will sit in favour of Dakota Mermis on Thursday after playing in each of the Wild's last three games. Hunt has no goals and one assist in eight games this season.

Hartman was a late scratch for Thursday's game, with the Wild only announcing his absence 30 minutes before puck drop. Hartman has nine goals and six assists in 27 games this season.

Petersen has been called up again from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the AHL, a semi-regular occurrence over the last month as Carter Hart has battled several injuries and is currently not able to play due to an illness. Petersen has a 3.50 GAA and .896 SV% in two games with the Flyers this season (1-1-0) and will serve as the backup to Samuel Ersson on Thursday.

Gustavsson has started four of the last five games for the Wild and will return to the crease again on Thursday against the Montreal Canadiens. In his last contest, Gustavsson allowed four goals on 30 shots (.867 SV%) in a 4-3 loss to the Penguins but has allowed two or fewer goals in each of the seven games prior (6-1-0), posting a stellar .954 SV%. Minnesota has been rolling since introducing John Hynes as their new head coach, posting an 8-3-0 record, and are -178 home favourites against a Canadiens team that has collected a point in three straight outs (2-0-1).

Nick Blankenburg will be a healthy scratch on Thursday, allowing Jiricek to return to the lineup after not playing on Tuesday. Tuesday was Jiricek's first time out of the lineup in 17 games. He has three points (0G / 3A) while averaging under 15 minutes of time-on-ice in his last two games.

Zuccarello has not played the last two games for Minnesota due to an upper-body injury and has been placed on the injured reserve, meaning he will be out of the lineup until after the Christmas break. Before his injury, Zuccarello had only one point (0G / 1A) in his last five games despite averaging nearly 18 minutes of ice time per game, receiving top-line and top powerplay deployment.

Hinostroza was reassigned to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL on Tuesday but was immediately recalled on Wednesday. He played three consecutive games for Pittsburgh last week, averaging over 13 minutes per night, but was held off the score sheet. He has four points (2G / 2A) in five games this season with Wilkes-Barre Scranton.

Zuccarello missed the Wilds' game Monday vs. Pittsburgh and will remain out Tuesday against Boston as he is week-to-week with an upper-body injury. It is a massive loss for the Wild as the 36-year-old veteran right-winger has six goals, 22 assists, 74 SOG, 10 PIMs and a -3 plus/minus in 28 games prior to his injury.

Petersen has a 4-6-1 record, .898 SV% and 3.20 GAA in 11 games with Lehigh Valley (AHL) this season and has been recalled to Philadelphia for a second time this season. The 29-year-old veteran of six years struggled in his previous call up, with his 1-1-0 record, .896 SV% and 3.50 GAA and will back up Samuel Ersson Tuesday while Carter Hart (illness) continues to recover.

Hinostroza played three consecutive games for Pittsburgh, averaging over 13 minutes per night, but was held off the score sheet and has been reassigned to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL. He has four points (2G / 2A) in five games this season with Wilkes-Barre Scranton.

Zuccarello's absence on Monday night was a surprise with the team not giving any indication he would miss the game in Pittsburgh prior to warmups. The 36-year-old is averaging a point-per-game this season, registering six goals and 22 assists across 28 games.

Tarasenko was a late scratch on Friday and subsequently did not play on Sunday as he tended to family matters away from the team. He was back at practice on Monday and will likely return to the lineup on Tuesday against the Arizona Coyotes. After averaging only 1.4 shot per game during a seven-game stretch with three points (0G / 3A), Tarasenko has been more involved lately, seeing his ice-time increase by 97 seconds per game, scoring six points (3G / 3A) and averaging 3.1 shots in seven games.

Gustavsson will start for the fourth straight game on Monday and look for his fourth straight victory in the process. The Swedish goaltender's turnaround this season has been remarkable. Gustavsson has followed up a 10-game stretch (1-6-2) where he posted a .864 SV%, with an astounding .954 SV% in his seven games since (6-1-0). Minnesota is a slight +101 road underdog on Monday against the Pittsburgh Penguins, who will be playing desperately after being embarrassed by the Toronto Maple Leafs in their last contest, a 7-0 blowout loss.

Sturm suffered a mid-body injury vs. the Jets on Thursday and is considered week-to-week. The Sharks said that Sturm will be re-evaluated in one week, but for now, he'll be replaced by Jack Studnicka, who was acquired from the Canucks this week.